Rocklin activates second red light camera

The city of Rocklin activated a new red light camera on Rocklin Road at the I-80 on-ramp last week.
This marks the second such camera operating in Rocklin.
“This new camera will cover both straight-through lanes and the left turn lane onto westbound I-80,” said Sgt. Terry Roide of the Rocklin Police Department.
Although the camera began monitoring the intersection on June 6, the Rocklin Police Department is giving drivers a 30-day warning period before citations are issued.
Beginning July 7, actual citations will be issued, Roide said.
The Rocklin City Council approved the Red Light Enforcement Program in 2005, allowing for 10 cameras to be placed around the city. The first camera was placed at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Park Avenue in 2006.
Roide said because of a design flaw in the intersection, that camera only captures the left-turn lane.
Roide said there were just over 1,000 red light violations in 2007 captured by the camera and of those, 765 citations were issued.
“We’re pretty conservative as agencies go,” Roide said. “If we’re looking at the video and it is really close to tell, then we won’t issue a citation. We are looking at those violations that are going to cause accidents.”
Roide said simply having signs at the entrance to the city that says photo enforced, people are generally more cautious.
“That’s what we want,” he said. “We’re not here to punish people, we want them to be more cautious. We want to cut down on the accidents, especially the red light ones. Those are usually the big accidents because of the speeds of both cars.”
The Red Light Photo Enforcement Program is administered by Redflex Traffic Systems, an Arizona-based provider of traffic safety photo enforcement.
Roide said Redflex initially monitors the intersection before sending the video to the police department for final approval.
“If they can’t identify the driver or the license plate, they may kick it out,” Roide said. Roide said although the program is approved for eight more camera’s to be installed throughout the city, the police department is not in too big of a hurry.
He said the Rocklin Police Department will work in conjunction with Redflex to monitor possible problem intersections before installing the cameras.
Roide also said one area that will likely be a high-risk, high-traffic area that is a good candidate for red light cameras is the intersection of Sierra College Boulevard and I-80, near the proposed Rocklin Crossings development.